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Editor's Short List Some random, deadline-busting favorites from the editor's desk By Dan Pulcrano Best Cantina Tres Gringos 83 S. Second St., San Jose Newly opened grass and galvanized theme bar recalls misspent youth south of the San Ysidro border crossing. Tequila! Best Premium Wine Store Joseph George Wines 1559 Meridian Ave., San Jose The best selection of rare and hard-to-find premium wines and cult wines in the South Bay, and possibly the entire Bay Area. Best Limo Wine & Roses Limousine's 1957 Chevy www.wineandroseslimo.com Imagine pulling up in a 30-foot, immaculately restored candy apple red '57 Bel Air with white top that's outfitted with sound and DVD and a white marble bar. So much classier than a Hummer stretch, but if you want one, W&R has that too. Best Parking Space Fourth Street Garage So what if it's the most expensive garage ever built, at $77,000 a space? We dig those lights, man. Best Gargoyles The Stone Griffin 412 E. Campbell Ave., Campbell Some of the best gargoyles and griffins this side of Notre Dame, along with various other humorous and symbolic garden ornaments, can be found at this humble shop in downtown Campbell. Best Downtown Coffee Shop Cafe Nono's North First Street at Santa Clara Street, San Jose Great coffee, friendly service and freshly prepared Middle Eastern sandwiches make this small café a dependable morning or lunch spot. Best Independent Book Store Willow Glen Books 1330 Lincoln Ave., San Jose President Clinton shopped here. So do connoisseurs of local history and local writers, people who enjoy provocative, idiosyncratic subjects and others who don't want to feed the big book chains. Best Evidence Crime Doesn't Pay Pretending to be 'the best' Mercury News staff steal Metro's "Best of Silicon Valley" name. Publisher Joe Natoli arrogantly replies, "So, sue us." Natoli forced to flee to cold, crime-ridden city back East. Best Vodka Infusions Village Cafe 378 Santana Row, Suite 1035, San Jose Strawberries, loganberries, boysenberries, mangos and other fruits are lovingly marinated in Svedka vodka for two weeks or more, awaiting their destiny in a martini glass. Best New Pizza Restaurant Pizza Antica 334 Santana Row, Suite 1065, San Jose Hearth-baked Neapolitan pizzas with artisan ingredients? What the heck is that? Best Indian Vegetarian Restaurant Udupi Palace 976 E. El Camino Real, Sunnyvale Affordable, tasty South Indian vegetarian cuisine. When you come from a place where cows rule, you get pretty good at this stuff. Best Fresh Fish Restaurant Dynasty Chinese Seafood Restaurant 1001 Story Road, 2nd Floor, San Jose Watch the little fishies swimming around in aquariums, pick a cute one and enjoy him steaming on a plate minutes later. Best Cuban Food Habana Cuba Restaurant 238 Race St., San Jose The Cuban food here's better than at the restaurants in Havana. Really. Best Japanese Kubota 593 N. Fifth St., San Jose An all-around great Japanese restaurant with an elegant interior, full bar and immaculately groomed bamboo out front. Best Sushi Hamasushi 20030 Stevens Creek Blvd., Cupertino It's really the place to go for perfectly prepared sushi and sashimi, with nice touches like warmed hand towels and traditionally attired waitstaff. Best Kosher Foods Mollie Stone's 164 S. California Ave., Palo Alto Mollie's has blintzes and rugelach, briskets and Empire chicken, kosher cheeses, kosher marshmallows and kosher wine. It's the hands-down winner in this category, just in time for Yom Kippur! Best Indication That There's Civilization in South San Jose Evergreen Village Aborn & Ruby roads, San Jose The Evergreen Village experiment in "new urbanism" has recreated a downtown street with a Lunardi's supermarket down the street from horse ranches and tumbleweeds. Best Indication That There's Civilization in East San Jose Beshoff Motorcars Mercedes 3000 E. Capitol Expwy., San Jose The showroom is palatial, the selection of cars dazzling and the service bay floors clean enough to eat off of. Best Indication That There's Culture in Cupertino Helios Restaurant/Cypress Hotel 10030 S. De Anza Blvd., Cupertino The words "stylish" and "Cupertino" were never mentioned together until this Kimpton Group boutique hotel brought striped fabrics and portobello mushrooms to town. [ 'Best of' Intro | The Valley's Split Personality | Credits ] Send a letter to the editor about this story to letters@metronews.com. [ 'Best of' Index | Silicon Valley | Metroactive Home | Archives ]